Monday, January 19, 2009

How to Stop Piddling, Part Two


Yesterday I spoke about piddling, which is wasting valuable writing time doing absolutely nothing worthwhile. I gave a few examples of things I do while AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD. Today I want to mention a few things I do ON THE KEYBOARD that 1. can't be considered time wasters because they need to be done, and 2. give me enough of a break so I can go back and work on my book again with a refreshed perspective.

* work on your webpage (If you don't do your own site, peruse your own to see if there are any mistakes or improvements/additions you could make.)
* check ARe and Fictionwise to see what's hot - it might spark an idea for a new book!
* pull out another WIP, PRINT IT OUT, and begin editing it (I don't know why, but for some reason having the printed sheet in my hand gives me a whole new slant on the book, and I can see problem areas/mistakes that I never caught while editing directly off the monitor.)
* sites like MySpace and RomanceWiki are worth the time and effort to open and keep current (I've gotten many hits on my website from those places. Did they result in sales? I can't say for certain, but the hits alone are reason enough to keep them open. And they're FREE!)

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